Toll in Turkey quake hits 83 as miraculous rescues give hope

The death toll in the Oct. 30 earthquake in the Aegean province of İzmir has increased to 83, according to the official disaster agency, AFAD.

Some 220 of the 994 people wounded in the earthquake are still treated in hospitals, AFAD said. The number of damaged or collapsed buildings is 58, Urban Minister Murat Kurum said on Nov. 2.

As the search and rescue efforts continue, the survival of a three-year-old some 65 hours after the quake spread hopes to rescuers and families who have been waiting for good news from the trapped victims.

Elif Perinçek was one of the victims trapped at the Doğanlar Apartment, one of the largest wrecks in the city.

His mother and two sisters were pulled out alive one day after the earthquake, but his seven-year-old brother Umut had succumbed to his wounds.

Seven hours before the miraculous survival, 14-year-old İdil Şirin was pulled from the rubble of the Emrah Apartment in central İzmir.

According to AFAD, some 1120 aftershocks came after the earthquake.